Dragon Ball Multiverse
by kolbster42
Summary: Rediscover the story of DBM, loaded with more detail. This novelization is verified as canon by Salagir, who also included additions of his own. These have not been seen in the manga, and therefore make this story a true annex to the comic!
1. Prolouge

___Written by Loïc Solaris_

_Translated by MikeysBoner(certified god) and Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai?_

The Dragon Balls. Seven mystical spheres which, when brought together, summon forth a dragon that can grant a single wish...

Ever since this power was discovered by a 16 year old girl named Bulma and her friend Goku, the Dragon Balls became vital to our heroes. The sacred dragon Shenron appeared many times on Earth to help its defenders against dangerous threats.

Goku and his friends grew over the years, gaining incredible power as they defended the Earth against the many threats in the universe. Finally, after years of hard fighting, in which they defeated Saiyans, Freeza's empire, the vile Cyborgs of Dr. Gero, and the evil djinn Majin Buu, peace was finally restored on the Earth.

The defeat of Majin Buu gave way to this magnificent era of peace, leading Goku to Uub, the good-hearted reincarnation of Majin Buu, and his granddaughter Pan. Goku, knowing he wouldn't be alive forever, saw this as an opportunity to train both Uub and Pan to eventually take over his position as Earth's defenders. The future looked bright in the hands of Goku and his disciples.

However, after twenty years of peace, somewhere far, far away, a new challenge looms over our heroes...


	2. Chapter 1

_Written by Loïc Solaris_

_Adapted by Kakarotto Ka Power Level Kya Hai? & Team_

**_I don' own this fanfiction. All rights belong to the owners . Sorry I didn't make that clear in the last_**** chapter.**

**Chapter 1**

On Earth, a great day loomed in the morning, with the sun shining in a cloudless blue sky. In a simple house in the city, two parents prepared a good breakfast. Once ready, Son Gohan called his daughter, "Pan! Breakfast is ready!"

"Is she up at least?" Gohan's wife Videl asked, placing one last box of cereal on the table.

Gohan did not have time to answer, as at that moment someone came hurtling down the stairs from the second floor. A big smile lit up the face of Gohan, who readjusted his glasses with a small gesture.

"No doubt, she's awake," thought Gohan.

The girl, who was fourteen years old, dressed in a kimono and wearing a red stick on her back, was already opening the door to exit:

"Mom! Dad! I'm going out!"

"Hey! Where are you going dressed like that?" asked her mother.

"Grandpa has promised me that today, we're gonna train with Uub. I don't want to miss this!"

"You don't even know where they are," replied Gohan before taking a drink.

At that moment, the orange juice almost spilled when he felt a momentarily powerful energy. It was too far away to place it accurately, but Gohan could still learn of the origins. And if he could detect it, so too could Pan. Pan fired a mocking nod to her father and just before passing it slammed the door (a little too hard):

"I'm off!" yelled the young Saiyan fighter.

"But... This kid really does what she wants..." sighed her mother.

Gohan sighed with an air of distraction. In fact, he followed the energy of his daughter outside... And followed it with prudence, for about ten minutes.

"Don't worry, Videl." Gohan reassured her. "She'll be with Dad, so she won't risk anything. Or at least not much..."

"But she has high school this morning!" Videl argued, still upset.

"Don't worry, the classes are endowed, she'll catch up. And let me remind you," Gohan said, rising, "that I also missed several years of study when I was younger than her."

Videl sighed while looking through the window. Pan was going up on a yellow cloud that quickly spun in the air.

"I still think she has too much fun…"

"Videl... Although she misses classes, she is an entire grade in advance. There is no problem. In fact, she's even more talented than me."

"It's a time of peace..." Videl replied "Her priority should be her classes while she practices martial arts in her spare time!"

"Stop," Gohan said with a smile on his face. "You remind me of my mother."

"It's just that I want to be sure she has a good job later in life. Fighting should be secondary to her..."

Gohan got up to move closer to his wife, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"That's just the way it is, Videl. Nothing can be done about it... She's been imitating her grandfather ever since she could walk. Besides, you worry too much. She'll be fine."

"But surely—"

"If it'll make you feel better, father will come over tonight."

Videl's face brightened. "That's a great idea!"

Gohan gazed up at the clock and realized that he was going to be late for work! Something that had never happened before.

"Go on, darling." Videl said to her husband. "You're going to be late."

In an isolated mountainous region far from any population, loud echoes rang through at regular intervals. Shock waves whose power shook the ground could be felt by simple humans miles away. Occasionally, what appeared to be battle cries could also be heard. The kind of battle cries that push warriors to give their full strength.

The ruckus in the mountains turned out to be an amazing battle between two exceptional warriors. The battle, which was just a warm up match for the two warriors, was simply unimaginable for the average human being. The amount of power given off by the two must have been the equivalent of no less than one-million humans.

After a few minutes of training, the two friends, master and disciple, took a little break and began to talk.

"I didn't drop a single bead of sweat, sensei." Said Uub, the younger of the two, who was a brown skinned, twenty year old boy dressed in a red-orange martial arts gi. "I'm not even out of breath..."

"That's the point of interval training." His sensei Goku replied, scratching his head with one finger slightly embarrassed. "The training methods you suggested would put the entire planet at risk."

Uub, now sitting on a nearby rock, observed the surrounding landscape that he and his sensei had been battling in.

"Yeah, the land has already suffered a lot from our training match hasn't it?" Uub wondered, looking at the surrounding landscape.

"Oh don't worry, it wasn't our fight that caused the damage here. Uh... Actually, maybe a little... Ha ha," replied Goku after a quick flashback. "But if I recall, this is the location where Vegeta and I first battled." He said to his disciple.

"Vegeta? Really!?" exclaimed Uub.

The young warrior, reincarnation of the mighty Majin Buu, who nearly destroyed the universe, closed his eyes and took in the landscape, trying to imagine what had been an epic duel, about thirty years ago.

Goku stood up suddenly, clapping his hands. "Alright, inspired yet? Then let's start again!"

"Alright!" replied the young man with renewed enthusiasm.

"Good. This time, I'm counting on you to exceed your current level! As usual, try to keep up."

Goku took his stance. With bent legs slightly spread apart and fists clenched, Goku displayed his power without even needing to turn into a Super Saiyan. A blue and white aura surrounded him and his hair flowed in the wind that was created around him.

Facing him, Uub began to power up, his cry louder and more sustained. A white aura began to surround the boy.

"Push it, Uub! Go higher! Go further than you–"

He was then cut off by a surge of energy emitted by Uub, who emitted a slightly larger amount of power. Goku smiled, surprised.

"Good, Uub. But can you keep up with this?"

The blueish-white aura surrounding Goku suddenly took on a golden hue along with his hair, and his eyes became greenish-blue. His power had not increased too dramatically, but it put his strength significantly above Uub's, who was only half as strong as Goku at that point. However, his master had taught him a useful technique for these kinds of situations, a technique that he immediately used.

Uub's muscles bulged and with a roar, he yelled, "Kaioken!"

The white aura surrounding Uub went scarlet red. His muscles took more volume as his blood vessels swelled to allow faster blood flow. His strength multiplied, and before long it exceeded that of his master. Goku, who was not shaken, clenched his fists even harder and began to draw in more power. His hair stood on end, leaving only a single lock over his forehead. His muscles had also increased in volume, and sporadic bolts of lightning crackled through his aura.

"Time for the next level..." Uub thought to himself.

Uub concentrated and drifted through the following levels of Kaioken. "Times three... Four... Five..." He continued stage by stage without rushing.

This time, just as Goku wanted, Uub hoped to reach a higher level than he ever had before. For months on end he had hardened his body to be able to withstand higher levels of power.

Yes... This time... He will finally surprise his master! Just a little more effort and concentration and— "What the hell?" Uub thought suddenly, breaking his concentration and power.

"Grandpa!"

"Hey, hey! I know that voice!" said Goku, who also released his power looking up to the sky at the same time as Uub.

They looked up and saw a young girl of fourteen about a hundred meters above them. The quarter-saiyan adeptly navigated down towards them.

"Grandpa," said Pan, who touched down with an angry look on her face, "you promised that you wouldn't start without me!"

"Sorry Pan! But we were ready and you weren't here... Tell me, why did you come with Kinto'un?"

Pan put her hands on her hips, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, taking a position which showed that the answer was obvious. "Since I came here to train with you two I didn't want to waste any energy by flying."

"Ah, of course"

"Do you think she can keep up with us?" asked Uub with a smile as he approached.

"Of course I can! I don't bear the Son family name for nothing!" countered the young girl before turning to her grandfather. "Grandpa, I saw Uub using the Kaioken! When are you going to teach it to me?"

"But you don't need it, Pan. I only taught Uub because he can't turn into a Super Saiyan."

"But neither can I!" Pan said nearly whining.

"You can." replied Goku. "You just need to put in more effort."

"But... With the Kaioken I wouldn't need-"

"Okay, okay," said Goku, trying to change the subject, "we'll see later. For now let's take it slow with a small energy rise."

"But we _just_ did that!" Uub interjected.

"I don't need to do that!" supported Pan.

"Don't be silly," said Goku. "We'll train seriously, don't worry about that, but for now let's start with a little run."

"Okay..." sighed Pan and Uub simultaneously.

They were ready to follow Goku's lead when he suddenly stood up and began scanning the sky. He had felt something approaching their location. It didn't take long before they saw what had puzzled Goku. A strange little robot was flying straight in their direction.

"What is it?" asked Uub.

"It looks kind of like one of Bulma's machines." Goku replied curiously.

The robot, which looked like a rocket propelled sphere with very short legs and one eye, came to a stop in front of the puzzled Earthlings. The craft emitted a low metallic sound and began to whistle like an old television. The single eye suddenly began to shine, and a hologram image displayed between Goku and the robot, the image of a Namekian.

"Mr. Piccolo?" asked Uub, who was surprised by the image.

"No, not him." Goku said, suddenly serious.

"Warriors of the Earth," began the Namekian, "you have been chosen because you are the strongest fighters in your universe. We invite you to participate in the biggest tournament that you can ever imagine."

"A tournament?" said Pan, obviously very interested in the idea.

"I wonder..." began Goku before the Namekian continued.

"We look forward to seeing you at the palace of Kami-Sama."

When he finished, the hologram blurred before revealing the image of Piccolo.

"It's not easy to explain," said Piccolo, "but it's not a joke. I knew you would be interested, Goku, so I allowed them to contact you. See you there."

The image disappeared, and the robot left as quickly as it came.

"Was that message intended for only the three of us?" asked Uub.

"I don't think so," replied Goku, turning to his two disciples. "He spoke of the strongest fighters in the universe. Surely he will also contact Vegeta and Gohan."

"This is serious, isn't it?" asked Uub.

"We'll see. We shouldn't waste any time. Hold onto me, we'll pick up Gohan and the Briefs family along the way."

Uub placed a hand on Goku's shoulder while Pan clung onto his belt. Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and sought out Ki from the location of his son's house. He immediately felt Videl's ki signature and instantly beamed to that location, taking Uub and Pan with him. It took Goku only a minute to realize why he didn't feel the Ki of his son, which was almost one thousand times stronger than that of his wife. Gohan was away...

"He's at work, as usual." said Videl after Goku explained the situation quickly.

"We just have to pick him up, Grandpa!"

"Wait!" said Videl. "I want to come with you."

"Sure, come along!" said Goku. "I can feel Gohan's energy now, and he's on the move... Wow, even without training Gohan's speed is impressive. It's pretty surprising."

"And Vegeta?" asked Pan.

A smile quickly spread across Goku's face. "I'm sure this story will interest him. We should get Goten and Trunks, too. They're both at home."

Pan sparkled with joy.

"Yes! It's been a while since I've seen Grandma! Hey! Should we get Grandpa Satan, too?"

"I'm sure Buu got the message too. Otherwise we'll see. Hold on!"

This time with Videl, Goku teleported everyone to Chichi. There they found Goten and Trunks, who was visiting to avoid boredom at the Capsule Corporation. Goku briefly explained what little he knew about the situation to the two young fighters. Goku told everyone, along with Chichi, who insisted on coming along, to hold onto him. With a quick flash he then teleported everyone to Dende's palace.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a small spherical robot appeared at the house of Goku only minutes later to bring the message to Goten and Trunks. The robot would return empty-handed...


	3. Part 1: A Very Strange Tournament!

PART ONE: A VERY STRANGE TOURNAMENT!

Chapter 1

On Earth, a great day loomed in the morning, with the sun shining in a cloudless blue sky. In a simple house in the city, two parents prepared a good breakfast. Once ready, Son Gohan called his daughter, "Pan! Breakfast is ready!"

"Is she up at least?" Gohan's wife Videl asked, placing one last box of cereal on the table.

Gohan did not have time to answer, as at that moment someone came hurtling down the stairs from the second floor. A big smile lit up the face of Gohan, who readjusted his glasses with a small gesture.

"No doubt, she's awake," thought Gohan.

The girl, who was fourteen years old, dressed in a kimono and wearing a red stick on her back, was already opening the door to exit:

"Mom! Dad! I'm going out!"

"Hey! Where are you going dressed like that?" asked her mother.

"Grandpa has promised me that today, we're gonna train with Uub. I don't want to miss this!"

"You don't even know where they are," replied Gohan before taking a drink.

At that moment, the orange juice almost spilled when he felt a momentarily powerful energy. It was too far away to place it accurately, but Gohan could still learn of the origins. And if he could detect it, so too could Pan. Pan fired a mocking nod to her father and just before passing it slammed the door (a little too hard):

"I'm off!" yelled the young Saiyan fighter.

"But... This kid really does what she wants..." sighed her mother.

Gohan sighed with an air of distraction. In fact, he followed the energy of his daughter outside... And followed it with prudence, for about ten minutes.

"Don't worry, Videl." Gohan reassured her. "She'll be with Dad, so she won't risk anything. Or at least not much..."

"But she has high school this morning!" Videl argued, still upset.

"Don't worry, the classes are endowed, she'll catch up. And let me remind you," Gohan said, rising, "that I also missed several years of study when I was younger than her."

Videl sighed while looking through the window. Pan was going up on a yellow cloud that quickly spun in the air.

"I still think she has too much fun…"

"Videl... Although she misses classes, she is an entire grade in advance. There is no problem. In fact, she's even more talented than me."

"It's a time of peace..." Videl replied "Her priority should be her classes while she practices martial arts in her spare time!"

"Stop," Gohan said with a smile on his face. "You remind me of my mother."

"It's just that I want to be sure she has a good job later in life. Fighting should be secondary to her..."

Gohan got up to move closer to his wife, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"That's just the way it is, Videl. Nothing can be done about it... She's been imitating her grandfather ever since she could walk. Besides, you worry too much. She'll be fine."

"But surely—"

"If it'll make you feel better, father will come over tonight."

Videl's face brightened. "That's a great idea!"

Gohan gazed up at the clock and realized that he was going to be late for work! Something that had never happened before.

"Go on, darling." Videl said to her husband. "You're going to be late."

In an isolated mountainous region far from any population, loud echoes rang through at regular intervals. Shock waves whose power shook the ground could be felt by simple humans miles away. Occasionally, what appeared to be battle cries could also be heard. The kind of battle cries that push warriors to give their full strength.

The ruckus in the mountains turned out to be an amazing battle between two exceptional warriors. The battle, which was just a warm up match for the two warriors, was simply unimaginable for the average human being. The amount of power given off by the two must have been the equivalent of no less than one-million humans.

After a few minutes of training, the two friends, master and disciple, took a little break and began to talk.

"I didn't drop a single bead of sweat, sensei." Said Uub, the younger of the two, who was a brown skinned, twenty year old boy dressed in a red-orange martial arts gi. "I'm not even out of breath..."

"That's the point of interval training." His sensei Goku replied, scratching his head with one finger slightly embarrassed. "The training methods you suggested would put the entire planet at risk."

Uub, now sitting on a nearby rock, observed the surrounding landscape that he and his sensei had been battling in.

"Yeah, the land has already suffered a lot from our training match hasn't it?" Uub wondered, looking at the surrounding landscape.

"Oh don't worry, it wasn't our fight that caused the damage here. Uh... Actually, maybe a little... Ha ha," replied Goku after a quick flashback. "But if I recall, this is the location where Vegeta and I first battled." He said to his disciple.

"Vegeta? Really!?" exclaimed Uub.

The young warrior, reincarnation of the mighty Majin Buu, who nearly destroyed the universe, closed his eyes and took in the landscape, trying to imagine what had been an epic duel, about thirty years ago.

Goku stood up suddenly, clapping his hands. "Alright, inspired yet? Then let's start again!"

"Alright!" replied the young man with renewed enthusiasm.

"Good. This time, I'm counting on you to exceed your current level! As usual, try to keep up."

Goku took his stance. With bent legs slightly spread apart and fists clenched, Goku displayed his power without even needing to turn into a Super Saiyan. A blue and white aura surrounded him and his hair flowed in the wind that was created around him.

Facing him, Uub began to power up, his cry louder and more sustained. A white aura began to surround the boy.

"Push it, Uub! Go higher! Go further than you–"

He was then cut off by a surge of energy emitted by Uub, who emitted a slightly larger amount of power. Goku smiled, surprised.

"Good, Uub. But can you keep up with this?"

The blueish-white aura surrounding Goku suddenly took on a golden hue along with his hair, and his eyes became greenish-blue. His power had not increased too dramatically, but it put his strength significantly above Uub's, who was only half as strong as Goku at that point. However, his master had taught him a useful technique for these kinds of situations, a technique that he immediately used.

Uub's muscles bulged and with a roar, he yelled, "Kaioken!"

The white aura surrounding Uub went scarlet red. His muscles took more volume as his blood vessels swelled to allow faster blood flow. His strength multiplied, and before long it exceeded that of his master. Goku, who was not shaken, clenched his fists even harder and began to draw in more power. His hair stood on end, leaving only a single lock over his forehead. His muscles had also increased in volume, and sporadic bolts of lightning crackled through his aura.

"Time for the next level..." Uub thought to himself.

Uub concentrated and drifted through the following levels of Kaioken. "Times three... Four... Five..." He continued stage by stage without rushing.

This time, just as Goku wanted, Uub hoped to reach a higher level than he ever had before. For months on end he had hardened his body to be able to withstand higher levels of power.

Yes... This time... He will finally surprise his master! Just a little more effort and concentration and— "What the hell?" Uub thought suddenly, breaking his concentration and power.

"Grandpa!"

"Hey, hey! I know that voice!" said Goku, who also released his power looking up to the sky at the same time as Uub.

They looked up and saw a young girl of fourteen about a hundred meters above them. The quarter-saiyan adeptly navigated down towards them.

"Grandpa," said Pan, who touched down with an angry look on her face, "you promised that you wouldn't start without me!"

"Sorry Pan! But we were ready and you weren't here... Tell me, why did you come with Kinto'un?"

Pan put her hands on her hips, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, taking a position which showed that the answer was obvious. "Since I came here to train with you two I didn't want to waste any energy by flying."

"Ah, of course"

"Do you think she can keep up with us?" asked Uub with a smile as he approached.

"Of course I can! I don't bear the Son family name for nothing!" countered the young girl before turning to her grandfather. "Grandpa, I saw Uub using the Kaioken! When are you going to teach it to me?"

"But you don't need it, Pan. I only taught Uub because he can't turn into a Super Saiyan."

"But neither can I!" Pan said nearly whining.

"You can." replied Goku. "You just need to put in more effort."

"But... With the Kaioken I wouldn't need-"

"Okay, okay," said Goku, trying to change the subject, "we'll see later. For now let's take it slow with a small energy rise."

"But we _just_ did that!" Uub interjected.

"I don't need to do that!" supported Pan.

"Don't be silly," said Goku. "We'll train seriously, don't worry about that, but for now let's start with a little run."

"Okay..." sighed Pan and Uub simultaneously.

They were ready to follow Goku's lead when he suddenly stood up and began scanning the sky. He had felt something approaching their location. It didn't take long before they saw what had puzzled Goku. A strange little robot was flying straight in their direction.

"What is it?" asked Uub.

"It looks kind of like one of Bulma's machines." Goku replied curiously.

The robot, which looked like a rocket propelled sphere with very short legs and one eye, came to a stop in front of the puzzled Earthlings. The craft emitted a low metallic sound and began to whistle like an old television. The single eye suddenly began to shine, and a hologram image displayed between Goku and the robot, the image of a Namekian.

"Mr. Piccolo?" asked Uub, who was surprised by the image.

"No, not him." Goku said, suddenly serious.

"Warriors of the Earth," began the Namekian, "you have been chosen because you are the strongest fighters in your universe. We invite you to participate in the biggest tournament that you can ever imagine."

"A tournament?" said Pan, obviously very interested in the idea.

"I wonder..." began Goku before the Namekian continued.

"We look forward to seeing you at the palace of Kami-Sama."

When he finished, the hologram blurred before revealing the image of Piccolo.

"It's not easy to explain," said Piccolo, "but it's not a joke. I knew you would be interested, Goku, so I allowed them to contact you. See you there."

The image disappeared, and the robot left as quickly as it came.

"Was that message intended for only the three of us?" asked Uub.

"I don't think so," replied Goku, turning to his two disciples. "He spoke of the strongest fighters in the universe. Surely he will also contact Vegeta and Gohan."

"This is serious, isn't it?" asked Uub.

"We'll see. We shouldn't waste any time. Hold onto me, we'll pick up Gohan and the Briefs family along the way."

Uub placed a hand on Goku's shoulder while Pan clung onto his belt. Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and sought out Ki from the location of his son's house. He immediately felt Videl's ki signature and instantly beamed to that location, taking Uub and Pan with him. It took Goku only a minute to realize why he didn't feel the Ki of his son, which was almost one thousand times stronger than that of his wife. Gohan was away...

"He's at work, as usual." said Videl after Goku explained the situation quickly.

"We just have to pick him up, Grandpa!"

"Wait!" said Videl. "I want to come with you."

"Sure, come along!" said Goku. "I can feel Gohan's energy now, and he's on the move... Wow, even without training Gohan's speed is impressive. It's pretty surprising."

"And Vegeta?" asked Pan.

A smile quickly spread across Goku's face. "I'm sure this story will interest him. We should get Goten and Trunks, too. They're both at home."

Pan sparkled with joy.

"Yes! It's been a while since I've seen Grandma! Hey! Should we get Grandpa Satan, too?"

"I'm sure Buu got the message too. Otherwise we'll see. Hold on!"

This time with Videl, Goku teleported everyone to Chichi. There they found Goten and Trunks, who was visiting to avoid boredom at the Capsule Corporation. Goku briefly explained what little he knew about the situation to the two young fighters. Goku told everyone, along with Chichi, who insisted on coming along, to hold onto him. With a quick flash he then teleported everyone to Dende's palace.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a small spherical robot appeared at the house of Goku only minutes later to bring the message to Goten and Trunks. The robot would return empty-handed...


	4. 1:Part 1: A Very Strange Tournament !

**Chapter 2**

At the Briefs house, it was essential for Vegeta to train every morning at the crack of dawn, although he was always up training long before that. At an earlier era in his life he had trained in a vessel built by his father-in-law, a vessel which could create artificial gravity well above that of the Earth's. Following several battles with his rival Goku, Vegeta had asked Dr. Briefs to build him something entirely new. A place where the gravity could be pushed even further than before, and above all else, mask his Ki. He wanted to cut himself off from the world so to speak so that no one on Earth, especially Goku, could feel the level of his Ki.

After several months of planning and trial and error, Dr. Briefs finally offered to build Vegeta a secret room under the Capsule Corporation for his new training facility. The latter was delighted to see that the gravity device had been dramatically improved from his old vessel, but was disappointed to learn that the technology to hide his Ki did not exist in this world...

Vegeta went to the palace of Dende and asked if he could use the Dragon Balls to wish for the technology to hide his Ki, but Piccolo and Dende flatly refused Vegeta's request, stating that it would be a misuse of Shenron's power. Fortunately, Dende offered to Vegeta the option to use the Room of Spirit and Time as often as he liked, which had been rebuilt to allow users to stay in longer than before. Since then, Vegeta had alternated between training in his new room under Capsule Corp and in the Room of Spirit and Time.

Today, in spite of his rigorous training schedule, Vegeta could not go to the palace of Dende. His wife and daughter had planned on going shopping and informed Vegeta that he had to come along, something that he could not refuse to do...

Drenched in sweat, he found himself face to face with his wife, Bulma, who had her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screamed in his face. You're late!"

"Well at least let me do my morning workout!"

"We said we were leaving at eight o'clock!" replied his agitated wife.

"But it's not even eight yet!" retorted the Prince of Saiyans.

Bulma did not disarm. "You've got ten minutes," she stated. "And do me a favor, please. Take a shower and find some decent clothes to wear."

Vegeta softly grinned and headed towards the bathroom.

"What a pain in the ass," his wife thought to herself

Behind Vegeta, Bulma also smiled softly as she turned away. "Hmm..." she thought maliciously. "I'll have to buy him some sexy jeans today..."

Twenty minutes later, Vegeta walked out of the Capsule Corp building dressed very elegantly. He was very presentable, wearing nice dress shoes and pants with a formal jacket covering his shirt. Before him stood his wife and his daughter, Bra, who were obviously at the forefront of fashion.

Without saying a word, Bulma came up and gripped the arm of her husband, who was slightly embarrassed and blushed furiously. The trio began to leave their family home when Vegeta suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He had an odd feeling, as if he was being watched. Just then, a flying spherical robot with short metal legs appeared about two meters in front of him. He wondered at first if it was a creation of his wife, but the design made it apparent that this was not the case.

The little robot silently landed on the ground in front of him and played the same holographic message that his rival had received roughly two minutes earlier from the Varga and Piccolo.

After the message played, the robot took off again towards the palace. Vegeta suddenly seemed very excited. "Well," he said, "Good bye, shopping!"

He looked very serious, but that wasn't very convincing to his wife and daughter. "Bulma, Bra, I'm sorry but this seems very important..."

Bulma wasn't fooled. "Oh, no you don't!" she exclaimed, "You promised that the three of us would go shopping together!"

Vegeta, however, was unyielding. "We can go shopping some other time. Right now, I have to go to the palace."

Bra, who knew her father all too well, knew that this time it would be useless to try to make him change his mind. "Okay," she said, "then we'll all go to the palace together in the plane!"

Vegeta felt the trap coming. "So you can trick me into going where you want to go?" he responded. "Nice try, but I'll make better time going there on my own."

The Prince immediately flew in the direction of the palace, leaving the two women behind fuming with anger. Vegeta smiled to himself as he flew through the air. He thought to himself, "A tournament? What luck!"

Filled with excitement, Vegeta accelerated, and even transformed into a Super Saiyan to multiply his speed. He did not notice the little spherical robot in his path and grazed it as he rushed by, knocking it distressfully to the ground.

At the palace, Piccolo stood motionlessly in thought, arms crossed and eyes closed. "What could possibly be the purpose of such a tournament?" He thought to himself, a question that had been on his mind ever since he received the information.

Piccolo suddenly opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms. He had felt a familiar Ki approaching the palace. After only a few seconds, Gohan appeared flying over the palace, gaining altitude at an astonishing rate of speed. He stopped about ten feet above the palace, letting down the white aura that surrounded him. The Saiyan-Human hybrid quickly inspected the palace by scanning the mysterious ship, the Namekians, and the bizarre bird-like aliens. He spotted Piccolo and Dende and dropped a couple of feet in front of them before walking in their direction.

"Hey!" he said to his two old friends.

Dende was visibly pleased to see Gohan. "Gohan!" Dende exclaimed, "It's been so long since you've paid us a visit!"

"I know, Dende," Gohan replied with an honest smile. "I've been busy at the university lately, but the holidays just started so I should have a little more free time."

"You made it here pretty quickly, Gohan," congratulated Piccolo.

Gohan modestly began scratching the back of his head. "Yeah," he replied, "but my speed is probably the only thing I've retained since I stopped training."

Piccolo was a bit surprised. "Speaking of training, seeing you like this sure brings back memories," he said with a little smile.

"Oh, it's probably because of these." Gohan removed his glasses from his shirt pocket and put them on. "I put them in my pocket so I wouldn't lose them on the way here."

"Hmm... They definitely add age to your appearance," replied Piccolo.

Dende's attention suddenly shifted. "Vegeta's here..." he said.

Arriving in the same way as Gohan, the Prince of Saiyans landed in front of trio nearly without slowing down, creating a blast of air which forced Dende to shield his eyes. With obvious arrogance, Vegeta asked directly if Goku had arrived yet, a question that seemed apparent.

"He'll be here soon," replied Piccolo. "Don't worry."

Vegeta replied with an arrogant smile. "Hmph, as if _I_ would be worried about that low-level clown!"

"Hey, Piccolo," said Gohan, skillfully changing the subject, "What do you think about our visitors?"

Vegeta, who was interested in the question, crossed his arms and waited to hear Piccolo's answer.

"Nameks are Nameks," said Piccolo. "They can always be trusted. These Vargas... seem honest at least. I don't sense any hostility from them. They claim to be from another universe..."

"Is that even possible?" asked Vegeta skeptically.

"Theoretically not," replied Gohan pensively. "But time travel is not theoretically possible, either, even though we know firsthand that it is. They must have had one hell of a technological advance for that to be possible... Going from one universe to another must use a lot of energy.".

Gohan turned and examined the Vargas and their ship. "I wonder if they would let me study that..."

Suddenly, a group of seven people appeared out of nowhere next to the quartet, to which Vegeta immediately reacted. "Trunks!" said Vegeta with obvious annoyance. "Where the hell have you been? I looked all around the Capsule Corp for you today!"

Trunks nervously turned to Goten, seeking any form of support from his friend.

Videl approached Gohan and lovingly straightened out his shirt, which the flight had crumpled, and Chichi took the time to reprimand Goten's lack of formality. Uub looked all around him at the group of warriors in fascination. Vegeta, on the other hand, spoke menacingly to Goku.

"Kakarotto! What took you so long? You've made us wait!"

"Sorry, Vegeta..." Goku replied with a smile on his face.

"You're awfully slow for someone who can teleport..." said Vegeta.

"I had to pick everyone up first," replied Goku, who did not manage to change Vegeta's bad mood.

"Couldn't they have just flown here themselves?"

"If you were this anxious, Vegeta, why didn't you come find me instead?"

"Here we go again..." mumbled Piccolo to himself.

"Great idea!" said Vegeta. "Next time I'll come grab you by the skin on your ass!"

"Oh sure! Give it your best shot!" countered Goku with a pleasured smile on his face, taking a stance.

Vegeta's eyes jubilantly lit up. "What an excellent idea, Kakarotto!"

Vegeta then also took a guarded stance, much to the worry of the Namekians and Vargas. Embarrassed at the situation, Chichi intervened. "Goku!" She said, staring at her husband intensely.

Goku suddenly became tense as his smile was erased from his face.

"Oh, uh... Chi-" Goku began.

"Don't make a fuss!" Chichi said cutting Goku off. "Do you think you're in a school playground or something? When will you grow up?"

Goku did not know what to say. It was true that for a fight against Vegeta, pleasure tended to prevail over reason. "Uh..."

Suddenly, a strange, thundering noise was heard for several seconds. The Vargas, fearing a storm, began scanning the bright blue sky. The group of Earthlings, however, knew exactly what the noise was, and they all turned their eyes to Goku.

"Ha ha, it's just my stomach, guys!" said Goku. "I left in a hurry and forgot to eat.

While Vegeta and Chichi scoffed with an air of boredom, Uub was perplexed. "But we had breakfast just before we started training..."

"But that was two hours ago!" said Goku. "All of that training raised my appetite. Where's Mr. Popo? Oh! I'm sure he's already preparing all of my favorite dishes! Mr. Popo! Helloooo?"

Everyone remained silent as Goku ran inside of the palace to the kitchen. Trunks then attempted to break the silence. "So, uh, dad," he said. "Where're Mom and Bra? They didn't want to come?"

"I think they're coming by plane." replied Vegeta without looking.

A small Varga suddenly approached the group timidly. "Um... Excuse us..." the Varga began.

"Don't worry," Piccolo said. "He'll return soon. When Son Goku gets hungry, it's impossible to take his mind off of food. But you can join us if you'd like. We can discuss the details of this tournament over a bite to eat." A sudden thought tore a giant smile into Piccolo's face. "Of course, with all of these Saiyans around the food might not last that long."

The Varga returned to his group and informed the others that their stay might last longer than expected...

Mr. Popo finished preparing all of the food and lined up the dishes on his floating magic carpet, which was being used as a long makeshift table. Bulma and Bra soon arrived at the palace.

Bulma, much like Gohan, was fascinated by the Vargas and their technology, while Bra thought that the aliens were cute due to their small size and fashion sense. She even went as far as to pet one of the creatures, causing him to "purr" before quickly distancing himself, looking rather embarrassed.

During the meal, only Goku and Pan, who was fond of imitating her grandfather, gorged themselves with food. The others instead focused their attention on the Vargas, who were seated at the end of the carpet, while they further explained the aspects of the tournament.

So as you know," the Varga began, "we came from a universe entirely different than the one you know. The Nameks who came here with us are also from our universe."

One of the Namekians advanced slightly and reached out. He held in his hand a thin circular object, which became slightly warm and caused the air above it to behave in strange ways. Images began to appear above the object, which instantly sparked Bulma's curiosity.

"A hologram?" she asked.

"Yes, it appears to be," replied Gohan.

"You exist within a multiverse," the Varga continued, "which is to say, multiple universes. They are all similar, with many of the same causes and effects. However, one single event that happens differently in one universe will cause it to diverge from the others. For example, in one universe, the sky of your planet could be red, and in another universe it could have been conquered by aliens."

The Varga was cut off by the noisy eating sounds emitting from Goku and Pan. The two noticed that the room had suddenly gone quiet and looked up at everyone, with noodles hanging out of their mouths. Knowing they stopped talking because of the noise they were making, Goku and Pan quickly slurped up the rest of the noodles and gave the speakers their attention.

"Yes... As I was saying," the Varga continued, "another example is our universe. In our universe, and ours only, the Vargas inadvertently discovered technology that allowed us to travel from one universe to another. The gods decided that the universes should remain closed, but they allowed us to organize one unique event..."

"Hey, that's the Supreme Kaioshin!" Goku exclaimed suddenly, noticing the purple-skinned god on the hologram.

"We allied ourselves with the Nameks of our universe," said the Varga, ignoring Goku's comment, "to organize a tournament between the strongest warriors of all the different universes. The winner of the tournament will get three wishes from the eternal dragon of Namek."

"The Dragon Balls of the other universes will be used to resurrect anyone who dies in the tournament." said the Namekian with the hologram. "And aside from the winning prize, the warriors of the tournament should find much excitement in the prospect fighting all of the powerful opponents."

"The tournament is unique and completely safe," continued the Varga. "Our question is: would you like to participate?"

The group around the table began to talk amongst themselves, and didn't quite know if they trusted the story or not. Vegeta, who remained silent, found it a little hard to concentrate with all of the different conversations happening around him. Goku finally cut in.

"This is a great opportunity! Uub will be able to test his powers without any risk. There're too many restrictions here."

"I don't trust this multiverse story at all," said Vegeta, "but there's no way you're going to enter a tournament without me, Kakarotto! I have a few surprises in store for you."

"Um... We have a question." said Trunks and Goten simultaneously.

Can we fight as a team?" asked Trunks.

"No," replied the eldest Namekian. "Fights are one against one. You lose if you cannot fight for thirty seconds or if you forfeit. Weapons are allowed as long you enter the ring with them. Once you enter the ring no outside force is allowed to help you. We will detail the finer rules later. "

Trunks and Goten both smiled contently.

"That's fine by us!" said Goten.

"We register Gotenks." said Trunks. "He is among us, but you can't see him, and we come along as spectators. Is that okay?"

"Yes," replied the Namekian, "spectators are greatly encouraged, and anyone is allowed to participate. One person even enrolled his unborn son. We don't care if you create this Gotenks just before the fight."

"Then I'll come as a spectator also," said Piccolo.

"Me too!" said Gohan without hesitation.

"You are the eighteenth universe to participate," said the elder Namekian. "This will be the number registered to your universe."

Without delay Vegeta instantly stood up. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"I can't wait to get there!" said Pan excitedly.

"I'll stay here," said Chichi. "I find this tournament idea ridiculous. Gohan, surely you're not gonna let my granddaughter participate?"

Gohan shot a glance at Videl, leaving the decision up to her.

"Well..." said Videl. "It could be beneficial to her..."

Chichi crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and turned away pouting.

Trunks looked to Goten. "It looks like we have to start practicing fusion again."

"This is gonna be amazing!" Goten replied with evident eagerness.

"Gohan," said Goku, "are you sure you don't want to enter the tournament?"

"Yeah," replied Gohan. "I've stopped training for too long and haven't been in a fight in years."

"But with your power alone you could probably go far in the tournament," said the young Uub.

"Forget it!" Vegeta intervened. "Gohan is worthless. I could beat him with my eyes closed!"

The remark made Gohan smile. "If it makes you happy to think so, Vegeta."

Vegeta also smiled, remembering a time nine years ago...


End file.
